NVIDIA releases its first game: NVIDIA VR Funhouse

NVIDIA has released VR Funhouse, which extends the company's role in the gaming ecosystem from hardware provider to that of a game creator. NVIDIA VR Funhouse is the company's first game, built on Epic’s Unreal Engine 4, and the brainchild of NVIDIA’s LightSpeed Studios.

Created to be fun for any player, whether they are experienced in virtual reality (VR), the game is also meant to showcase how immersive VR can be when physics is fully integrated into an experience.

NVIDIA has been developing PhysX, a software development kit (SDK) that allows physically accurate simulation of a 3D environment, for over a decade. The SDK has already provided advanced visual effects for more than 500 non-VR PC and console games. The company soon realised that early VR games and experiences lacked crucial physics simulation, making the VR universe feel less 'real' than it could be.

"Because VR places you inside of the experience with the ability to touch and interact with virtual objects, it is critical that those objects behave and react in realistic ways. Unlike traditional PC games, physics in VR games is not just visual effects. It’s fundamental to immersion," said the company in a statement.

VR Funhouse features seven mini-games set in a virtual carnival environment that include physical simulation in all aspects, combined with advanced graphics and precise haptics to make gamers feel like they are really at a carnival. Physics effects in VR Funhouse created with NVIDIA GameWorks SDK include:

Source: Steam's NVIDIA VR Funhouse page. NVIDIA Flow makes confetti act realistically when the balloons are popped.

 NVIDIA PhysX Destruction to make shooting game targets that realistically chip and explode when hit.
 NVIDIA FleX to make realistic fabric for curtains, streamers and basketball nets. It’s also used to create realistic fluids for in the clown balloon race game.
 NVIDIA Flow to make particles respond realistically to moving solid objects and turbulent fluid motion. You see it when players pop the confetti filled balloons and use their swords to cut through and interact with the confetti. Flow is showcased when you use the bow and arrow to light an arrow on fire, shoot it and watch the targets burn.
 NVIDIA HairWorks to make the lifelike hair in the Whack-A-Mole and Punch-A-Mole level. 

NVIDIA harnessed VRWorks technologies such as Multi-Res Shading and VR SLI to increase rendering performance. NVIDIA also recommends experiencing the game on a GeForce GTX 980 Ti, or GeForce 10 Series GPUS. The best, most immersive experience will use dual GeForce GTX 1080s.

Interested?

Experience state-of-the-art graphics and realistic physics modelling in a VR game by downloading the free-to-play NVIDIA VR Funhouse on Steam

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Similar experiences are expected from third parties after NVIDIA open-sources VR Funhouse later this summer.